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US 8,258,632 B1Granted
Optically-initiated silicon carbide high voltage switch with contoured-profile electrode interfaces
AssigneeLawrence Livermore National Security, LLC
InventorsJames S. Sullivan, Steven A. Hawkins
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Abstract
An improved photoconductive switch having a SiC or other wide band gap substrate material with opposing contoured profile cavities which have a contoured profile selected from one of Rogowski, Bruce, Chang, Harrison, and Ernst profiles, and two electrodes with matching contoured-profile convex interface surfaces.
Claims2
A photoconductive switch comprising:
- a photoconductive substrate composed of a greater-than-1.6 eV wide band gap material, said substrate having at least one concavity(s), and a facet optically connectable to an optical source for receiving optical energy therefrom;
- and
- two electrodes electrically connected to the substrate with at least one of the electrodes having a convex surface contactedly seated in a corresponding one of the at least one concavity(s), for applying a potential across the substrate,
- wherein the concavity(s) of said substrate and the convex surfaces of the electrodes have a contoured profile selected from a group consisting of Rogowski, Bruce, Chang, Harrison, and Ernst profiles.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.